Abdominal obesity and associated factors in teenagers

Objective: To verify the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its associated factors in adolescents. Material and methods: Cross-sectional and analytical study carried out in a public school in Maranhao, with 152 adolescents. Data were collected using a questionnaire with socioeconomic, demographic, lifestyle, food consumption and anthropometric variables. The dependent variable was abdominal obesity, defined by waist circumference. The Poisson regression method was performed using the Stata (R) version 12.0 program. Results: Of the adolescents interviewed, 56.5% were female, 39.5% were aged 17 to 19 years and 72.9% consumed soda 1 to 4 times a week. According to the BMI, 5.3% were overweight. About anthropometric indicators, 11.1% and 31.3% were at risk for cardiovascular diseases according to the waist / height ratio and neck circumference, respectively. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 14.6%. Being aged 17 to 19 years (IRR=2.44; CI=1.16-5.13), being a smoker (IRR=4.18; CI=2.33-0.00), consuming soda (IRR=0.43; CI=0.20-0.92) and energy drinks (IRR=2.49; CI = 1.00-6.19) 1 to 4 times a week were associated with abdominal obesity. Discussion: The literature shows the association of smoking and consumption of drinks rich in added sugars with abdominal obesity. Conclusion: There is a need to adopt measures to assess, identify and monitor the nutritional status of schoolchildren, to promote early nutritional interventions.